An Evening to Remember
by Lila B
Summary: It's been a year since Rose was last out on a date and her friend, Lissa, has just set her up on a blind one. What will happen when her blind date turns out to be the Russian self-defense teacher, Dimitri Belikov? FAGE Four. AH AU RxD one shot For Laurie Whitlock.


itle: An Evening to Remember

Written for: Laurie Whitlock

Written By: Lila B

Rating: T

Prompt used: First Date

Summary: It's been a year since Rose was last out on a date and her friend, Lissa, has just set her up on a blind one. What will happen when her blind date turns out to be the Russian self-defense teacher, Dimitri Belikov? FAGE Four. AHAU RxD For Laurie Whitlock.

If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the Facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.

community / Fagetastic _ Four / 98339 /

(fix the spaces and the periods)

AN: Please go check out the other amazing fics and the link above! This is my first time writing a Rose and Dimitri fiction so I really hope nothing sounds too OOC. Just a reminder, this is AH (All Human) and AU (Alternate Universe) and another thank you to my beta mauigirl60.

oOoO An Evening to Remember OoOo

It had been nearly a year since I last was on a date. Needless to say, I was nervous.

Ever since the car accident that claimed my late boyfriend, Mason's, life a little over a year ago, I haven't dated much. The little affair with Adrian was nice, but I had ended it early because I knew it would never have worked out.

Tonight, though, was different.

My best friend, Lissa, had set me up on a blind date with a man she knew from her self- defense classes. At first, I refused to even mention the word 'date' but, after some pleading and groveling, Lissa managed to bully me into it. His name was Dimitri, and I was meeting him at an Italian restaurant a few blocks away from my apartment. I didn't know much about him other than he was single and taught the self-defense class Lissa had signed up for once the event with her crazy uncle Victor had subsided. Christian, her fiancé, had also taken classes from Dimitri when he was younger, and agreed full-heartedly that this date was a good idea. A part of me wondered if he was bullied into telling me Dimitri was a good guy for me because Lissa wanted to see me happy again, or if this Dimitri fellow was actually a decent guy. Well, I knew he must be or else Lissa wouldn't have set us up.

Sighing, I stood in front of the restaurant and felt my heart hammering in my chest.

_Come on, Rose. I'm sure this will be fun. Lis ensured it._

With a final hesitation, I pushed away my nervous fears and walked into the restaurant. The doors were open since it was summer, and the hot evening air mixed in with the scents of spices and fresh bread. I paused to inhale the smells of the restaurant before walking towards the hostess who smiled brightly at me. She was pretty with perfect blonde ringlets surrounding her young face and baby blue eyes. Her skin was pale, like porcelain, making her look like a doll with the combination of her hair and young appearance. She was shorter than I was, and younger than my twenty-two, probably by a few years.

"Welcome to Antonio's," she said, just as brightly as her smile. "Just the one?"

I shook my head 'no.' "I have a reservation, Rose Hathaway."

I watched as she glanced down at her podium before flipping over a page where her finely- manicured finger rested on the paper. "There you are," she said, looking up. "If you would follow me?"

Wordlessly, I followed behind her as she gathered up a menu and lead me towards the patio around the back. People's voices chattered mindlessly while they dined on the excellent food, as we passed by their tables. I had always loved Antonio's restaurant. The hostess stopped at a table for two and plopped the menu down on one side.

"I'm Mia," she said over her shoulder, before flashing me another smile, "but your server tonight is Jill."

"Thank you," I murmured, before sitting down and watchingas Mia walked away back towards her podium; her high heels clicked on the pavement as she did. Nervously, I sucked in a breath, and sighed heavily.

_See? This isn't so bad. Just talk to the guy, eat, and you can go home._

Subconsciously, I fiddled with the ends of my hair, curling and uncurling them in my fingertips, while I waited for this mysterious Dimitri to show up. In this lighting, my hair looked black even though it was dark brown. I wore it down today, letting the waves tumble down my bare shoulders. I wore a halter-style sundress that tied around my neck and left most of my back bare. It was a simple dress, plum-colored, that fell above my knee and had a V-neck, since this wasn't a formal date. A part of me felt self-conscious wearing a dress like this because I didn't know what Dimitri was going to think, but I felt pretty wearing it.

Casually, I crossed my right leg over my left allowing my foot to hook onto the table stand. I idly fiddled with the cutlery placed over the napkins on my right. In the reflection of the spoon, I could see my dark eyes and how my lashes surrounded them. I didn't wear much makeup because I thought it was pointless to wear anyway. I was just alright wearing lip gloss, but Lis always insisted I, at least, try to look like a normal human being. The eye shadow I chose was only a few shades darker than my skin tone itself, which reminded me of the inside of an almond. Mom told me it was my Turkish heritage I inherited from my father, but I didn't know much about this man other than his name being Abe. My father was not a topic we discussed.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," I heard a low, rich voice murmur in a strange accent as a tall figure approached the table. "Traffic was a horror."

I looked up, a tad surprised, to find who I could only guess to be my blind date for the evening. He was tall with broad shoulders and an expansive chest causing the white button down shirt he wore to pull taught against the muscles. He had a few buttons undone showing off a sliver of collarbone, and his sleeves were pushed up his strong forearms. My gaze traveled down towards the dark slacks he wore, and how his shirt was tucked neatly into the waistband. His legs were long, and the material hugged them snuggly. Finally, I looked up to find his face. His features were angular with a strong jaw and nose. He had shoulder-length dark brown hair framing his face in subtle waves, and deep, dark brown eyes to match.

His Cupid's bow lips pulled into a sideways smile. "You must be Rose," he said.

I nodded, and stood up reaching my hand to his extended one. "I am, you're Dimitri, right?"

"That is right," he smiled a little more before releasing my hand and we both sat down.

I eyed him curiously, feeling a slight blush heating my cheeks. "Okay, I don't mean to be blunt, but, what is that accent?"

He chuckled. "Lissa warned me about this. It's Russian. I'm from Baia originally."

"Russian, huh?" I murmured. "You don't hear that too often."

"No, unfortunately." Dimitri admitted, "but when you do come across someone who is, it's very comforting."

I smiled softly, admiring the way he rolled his R's when the waitress came over. Her smile was pretty along with her face. Her features were soft which only added to her young appearance. She was a teenager, probably sixteen or seventeen at most, with pale skin, wavy brown hair, and pale green eyes.

"Hi, I'm Jill, your server for the evening. Can I get you two anything to start with?" she asked.

I glanced over at Dimitri, wondering if we should tell her we needed more time, but he only smiled before looking back to the girl.

"A glass of red wine would be wonderful, actually. Rose?" Dimitri looked back to me.

"Ah," I faltered for a moment being caught off guard by his dark eyes, before coughing awkwardly, "Um, white wine would be lovely. Thank you."

Jill flashed us both a smile. "Great! Be back shortly," she said, before sauntering off to another table to see how everything was.

I felt Dimitri looking at me before I saw his eyes when I glanced over. "Don't like red?"

I wrinkled my nose. "It's nasty."

He chuckled. "Tell me, anything else you find nasty?"

I snorted, and blushed when I realized I actually made that sound. "Playing twenty questions there, Dimitri?" I flirted back, while resting the edge of my jaw against the back of my left hand.

Dimitri chuckled, and shrugged innocently with a smile. "Maybe."

I couldn't help but smile back. _God, this man was infectious._"Okay, fine, I'll play."

He fiddled with the edge of the menu a moment before catching my gaze again. "What do you do, Rose? Lissa wouldn't tell me. She said I would have to ask you myself."

I blushed. "Talk about me often?" I asked cheekily.

He smiled broadly, and raised an eyebrow. "You're ignoring the question. It must be horrible."

I laughed, and shook my head. "No, actually, it's not too bad. I'm studying to be a lawyer at the moment. After what happened with Lis…" my voice trailed off, and I shook my head. "Well, I just want to protect people for things like that, I guess. Lissa was the one who made me want to go to law school."

"That's an amazing reason," Dimitri admitted, "protecting people, I mean."

"I hear you protect people yourself," I added.

I watched as Dimitri shrugged nonchalantly again, and leaned forward to rest his elbows gingerly on the edge of the table. "In a way, I suppose you are correct."

Jill came back with our drinks before setting them on the table. "Can I get you to anything to start?" she asked politely.

I glanced over at Dimitri before eyeing the unopened menu by my hands. As if he could read my mind, he smiled and looked over to Jill.

"A few more minutes, please."

She smiled before turning to go. I watched her as she approached another table before disappearing into the restaurant. I looked back to Dimitri to find him watching me.

I blushed, and felt my eyebrows draw together in confusion. "Is there something wrong?"

"Is that natural?" he asked, cocking his head slightly and gesturing to my hair. "I mean, the color. It's so dark, nearly black… it's beautiful…" his voice trailed off slightly.

I felt more heat creep up to my face. No one has ever complimented me on my hair. "Ah, yeah, it is."

He blinked, and smiled before opening the menu and glancing down at it. "Do you have any suggestions? I haven't been here in such a long time."

I tucked my hair behind my ear before opening my own menu. "Well, that depends on what you want," I said, while looking up under my lashes at him to watch as Dimitri thumbed the laminated page. His brows furrowed as he read the choices. It was adorable.

He looked up suddenly, and I ducked my head to hide the fact that I was staring. "What do you normally have?"

I reached for his menu and pointed towards the pasta section. "The fettuccine alfredo is always good. It's my own personal favorite."

His gaze went to where my finger was pointing before he read the description of the dish. His lips quirked into a smile. "'Fettuccine with beef bacon, chicken, green peas, rosemary and cream sauce,'" he read out loud. "That sounds very good."

"It is," I admitted, with a small smile before I sipped my wine. It was refreshing compared to how warm it was outside.

As if Jill had known we had come up with a decision, she was back and we placed our order.

"Come here often?" Dimitri asked casually before sipping his wine and fiddling with the stem once it was set back on the table.

I smirked softly, and shrugged. "Lissa takes me here whenever we need a lunch or dinner date together. I mean, I like Christian, but sometimes it's nice going out just the two of us."

"That must be nice," Dimitri noted.

I nodded. "It is."

There was a slight pause while I chewed my lip curiously. "When was the last time you were here?" I asked him.

He laughed, and shook his head before pushing back his hair from his face. "Far too long. My youngest sister was visiting and I took her here."

"Youngest sister? You have more?"

He nodded. "Three. Karolina, Sonya, and Viktoria. I'm the second oldest."

"That must be nice having siblings," I murmured, before I realized I said it out loud.

Dimitri cocked an eyebrow. "Only child?"

I shrugged. "Yep. My father ran off or something before I was born. Mom hasn't gotten around to remarrying or anything. It's just her and me."

Dimitri frowned. "It must be very quiet in your family."

I sipped my wine and caught his gaze. "Will you tell me about your family?"

He smiled and began to explain.

He told me that his eldest sister, Karolina, had two children, Paul and Zoya. Paul was fifteen, and Zoya was seven. Sonya had a six-year-old daughter, Yeva, named after their grandmother. His mother and grandmother live in the same house he grew up with along with Viktoria, since she was still going to school to become a nurse. He even went on about some crazy stories involving messy and loud family dinners with all the children and his sisters. Sonya and Viktoria apparently fought constantly and both were very loud when they got going. He told me about what happened with his father and how he used to abuse his mother until Dimitri couldn't take seeing her like that anymore and snapped. At thirteen, he had taken on his father and beat him so badly he hadn't seen him since. He said that's what got him so interested in self-defense and wanting to teach it to other people; to ensure scum like his father wouldn't harm another person.

I listened to him as he talked animatedly about how he started his school. It was amazing to see all this passion he had built up as we spoke. I could see it in his eyes, feel it in the air, and hear it in his accented words. It was only when our food arrived that he stopped and flashed me an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I really should stop talking. I'm sure you didn't want to listen to me go on this entire time."

I laughed as I placed my napkin on my lap. "No, no, it's wonderful, actually. You're very passionate about what you do, Dimitri."

A tint of blush crept up to his cheeks before he offered me a small smile. "Thank you," he said.

I was twirling my pasta carefully onto the end of my fork before Dimitri asked innocently, "How long have you been at school for?"

Unfortunately, I had already placed my fork into my mouth and was chewing when he asked me. God, I forgot how wonderful this dish was. The meat was tender, the sauce was sublime, and the pasta was cooked to perfection.

"This is my third year," I admitted, once I swallowed. "I took a year off when I graduated from high school to travel around South America with Lissa before coming back and buckling down."

I watched his brows gather. "Sorry to ask, but, you're only twenty two? You seem older."

I blushed, and sipped my wine. "I get that a lot. Yeah, last March was my birthday. Lissa says I act older because of school. Trust me, I was a piece of work in high school but I've smartened up."

He chuckled, and shook his head. "Don't we all," he mused, before lifting his fork to his mouth.

It fell silent for a moment before I looked back up at him curiously. "Did you go to school here?"

Dimitri shook his head. "I came to America after I had graduated. My friend, Ivan, wanted to come, but he could only go as long as I went with him. Our mothers had worked it out somehow and figured I would be there to help him out and keep him out of trouble."

I laughed. "I'm guessing he gets into trouble a lot?"

He smiled and nodded. "It's been nearly twelve years and I'm still pulling him out of situations when he puts his foot in his mouth."

"Was it difficult to travel all the way here?" I asked, while twirling my pasta.

Dimitri shrugged softly. "It was, at first, since we weren't accustomed to the culture and lifestyle here but after a while, it got better. We were teased a lot and asked where we were from because our accents were so thick. Mama was worried about me the whole time though. I call her nearly every day and she still worries."

I smiled while I ate. It was adorable that he addressed his mother as 'Mama,' especially in that accent of his.

"Do you travel a lot?" Dimitri asked, drawing my attention back to him.

I shook my head 'no.' "The one trip with Lissa was pretty much it. I've always wanted to go to Europe though," I admitted softly. "It sounds do beautiful."

"It is," he agreed with a gentle smile. "Can you tell me about your trip? I've never been anywhere in South America."

I smiled and nodded before beginning.

We talked for hours. Throughout dinner, we took turns telling stories about each other and asking questions which only lead to more stories. My cheeks hurt from the constant smiling, and my gut ached from the laughter. I've never smiled or laughed this much before in my life. It was amazing how quickly we got over the awkwardness of a first date and how, towards the end, we were speaking as if we hadn't just met. By the stories Dimitri told me about his life and family back in Russia, I felt like I had known him for years. It was amazing to see the sparkle in his eye whenever he mentioned something back home, or how he grew more passionate while taking about his family. It was obvious he loved them dearly and by the stories, it sounded like they loved him just as much.

But as the hours grew later and the restaurant began to close, our date had come to an end. Dimitri had offered me a lift home once he found out I had walked here. Even though I said I was able to walk the whole two blocks on my own, he insisted, saying he'd feel much better if he knew I arrived home safely and that his mother had brought him up better than to leave a woman alone. So, at last, we were standing in front of my apartment reaching the final end to a wonderful evening.

"Thank you for everything, Dimitri," I smiled. "I had a wonderful time."

He gazed down at me, and smiled softly. "Thank you for agreeing. I had a wonderful time, too."

I rocked back on my heels slightly before glancing back towards my door. "Well, I guess I better be off as I've got class early tomorrow. Thank you again for the lift. You really didn't have to do that."

Dimitri chuckled. "It wasn't a problem."

I tilted my face up slightly to catch his gaze. "Good night, Dimitri."

He leaned down so his lips could press a tender kiss to my cheek. "Good night, Roza."

I blushed furiously, feeling my skin tingle from where he kissed me. With a final glance and another embarrassed murmur of good night, I headed towards the front door of my apartment to go inside. As I closed the door, I could see his tall figure standing by his car, waiting to ensure I was home safely. After a moment, I watched as his shadowy form slid into the car, the engine humming as it turned on. He drove away into the darkness seconds later. I touched my cheek, feeling the heat of his lips against my flesh, and smiled.

_So Lissa wasn't as crazy as I thought._


End file.
